My Eddie
by Romanova's radioactive-revenge
Summary: Richie saves Eddie from Henry Bowers and the two of them have a moment. My first fic please read and review! Rated for swearing. I don't own IT.


**A/N: I just read through this again, and it was full of mistakes (I'm so sorry!) so I've gone through correcting them- hopefully I got them all. Tell me if I missed some. :) Constructive criticism is always welcome. Reviews make my day:) I'm working on another Reddie fic now, so look out for that if you like this:)**

Richie is running.

This isn't unusual.

He spends roughly 75% of his time running away from Henry Bowers and his goons.

But this time is different.

This time he is running _towards_ Henry Bowers and his goons.

 _Shit shit shit shit shit-_

His brain can't seem to remember any other words, just repeats the curse in time with his heartbeat.

 _Shit shit_ -

Henry and Belch are in an alleyway. Richie is barreling towards them.

 _Shit shit-_

Henry has pinned Eddie- _my_ _Eddie_ \- against the wall. He's smashing his fist against Eddie's face.

 _Shit shit_ -

He's nearly reached them. They're so focussed on Eddie- _my Eddie get your filthy hands off him Bowers-_ that they haven't heard him.

 _Shit shit shit shit shit shit shi-_

He slams into Henry, full speed, all his effort.

Henry teeters for a second, unbalanced, and Richie shoves him. Henry falls over hard.

" Watch where you're going, Bowers!" Richie says- i _diot that was dumb he's gonna kill you for sure now-_ and then he turns, grabs Eddie's hand and runs.

Henry bellows angrily, reaching out to grab them- his hand scrapes Richie's ankle- _oh God he's got me-_ but Eddie _\- my Eddie_ \- yanks Richie out of Henry's grasp and they're sprinting, feet pounding, and Henry and Belch are chasing after them and Eddie- _my Eddie_ \- is pulling Richie around the corner and they're running, running, running and adrenaline is pumping through Richie's veins, fear and a tiny bit of excitement, and Eddie _\- my Eddie_ \- leads them down a side street and Richie glances over his shoulder _-oh shit_ _they're still after us-_ and Eddie steers them left, onto a bigger street, and they nearly sprint straight in front of a car and Richie only just manages to yank Eddie- _my Eddie_ \- to a halt, and they pause for a second, heaving air into their lungs. Somewhere he let go of Eddie's hand. He misses the smallness of it, for some reas-

"I'm gonna kill you, you fucking fags!" Henry screams from behind them- _fuck we're dead_ -

"This way!" Eddie- _my Eddie_ \- seizes Richie's arm and drags him left, and darts into a shop. It's a bookstore, with aisles of shelves stacked with thick hardbacks. It's empty except for a balding man behind the counter, who glares at the two boys for a moment, before going back to reading his newspaper.

They see Henry and Belch thundering past through the shop window.

"They didn't see us," pants Richie, a relieved grin on his face, "You ok, Eds?"

"Don't call me Eds," Eddie wheezes. Richie looks down at him.

"You know you love- shit, Eddie, what did he do to you?" He gasps. Eddie's face is covered bruises and blood.

"Is it bad? Oh no, Mom's gonna kill me... How bad is it?" Eddie says, panicked. He fumbles in his fanny pack for his aspirator, puts it his mouth and squeezes the trigger.

"Never mind your mom, Eddie- Henry's nearly punched your whole face in! I'm gonna murder him, I fucking swear to god, no one touches my Eddie, no one!" Richie hisses, furious with Henry for hurting Eddie-

"I'm not your Eddie. Can you help me clean up my face?" Eddie says, gingerly feeling his cheeks.

"Wha- of course. Of course. Anything for Señor Eduardo, anything at all." Richie says, his cheeks turning red as he tries to change the subject. He's never said it out loud before, never. _My Eddie_.

"No Voices, Richie. Are you helping me or not?" Eddie says, elbowing Richie. His hands clutch bandages and wet wipes and his left eye is nearly swollen shut and it breaks Richie's heart to see Eddie- _my Eddie jeez Rich he's not yours-_ like this.

"I'm helping. Come over here. " Richie grabs Eddie's arm- _Jesus you're so skinny Eddie-_ and pulls him away from the window, to the corner of the shop. There's a shelf between them and the window, and it blocks the man's view of them as well. He takes the wet wipes off Eddie and carefully wipes Eddie's cheeks. A thin layer of dirt comes off his pale skin. There are still dark bruises spreading. A drop of blood trickles from Eddie's mouth- _I'm gonna murder Bowers if he ever hurts my Eddie again_ -and Richie gently wipes it away. His fingertips brush Eddie's lips- _oh shit that's really not good-_ and Richie desperately tries not to blush. He's pretending to be ridiculously focussed on cleaning Eddie's face, so as to avoid making eye contact , but he can't help himself and so he glances up. Eddie is staring at him. They're barely an inch apart. A soft whoosh of air escapes Richie's mouth, because when did Eddie- _my Eddie-_ become so fucking beautiful? His huge dark eyes, gorgeous lips, hair softly flopping onto his face, and the tininess of him, small and skinny and Richie suddenly has an intense need to kiss him. He tries to shove the thought away, but it stays.

 _Oh my god I want to kiss him so fucking badly what the heck have you done to me Eds I keep thinking of you as mine and I keep thinking how fucking adorable you are and now I want to kiss you and I'm not even joking I really really do and-_

"Are you ok, Richie?" Eddie- _my Eddie stop fucking saying that-_ whispers and Richie feels the air on his lips and-

"Can I kiss you?" There is a fraction of a second pause and it lasts for an eternity. Richie's face burns deep red and he stumbles back a few steps-

"Sorry I'm so fucking sorry oh shit Eds shit what the fuck have I done I'm sorry fuck oh my motherfucking god I'm really sorry-"

"What did you say?" Eddie cuts him off, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

"I- nothing. Nothing to see here mister. Move along now, young man." Richie trips desperately over the Voice, the British one.

"Because it sounded..." Eddie's whisper dies away. Their faces are somehow barely apart again. Eddie has moved closer. Richie feels his heart thumping in his ears. Eddie's lips are ever so slightly parted. Richie is frozen. Eddie stands on his tiptoes. Their lips are less than an inch apart. Richie desperately wants to close the gap- _his lips against mine-_ but he's too scared, so Eddie leans in instead.

The kiss is short. Eddie's lips press gently against Richie's. Barely a second of contact, but it is Perfect. They both step back, cheeks flushed. They don't speak. There aren't any words. Somehow, Richie understands that Eddie feels the same way. Somehow, Richie knows that it's not a joke or a fluke or a meaningless gesture. Somehow, Richie knows that it's real.

Wordlessly, Richie lifts his hand up to Eddie's cheek and continues removing the dirt and the trickles of semi-dried blood. When all of it's gone, he lets his arm drop and examines Eddie's beautiful face. They stand in silence for a moment, staring at each other.

"We should get some ice for your eye," Richie says softly. Eddie nods.

"Your place? If we can get the swelling down a bit before mom sees..." His voice trails off as Richie reaches out and pushes a strand of Eddie's hair behind his ear. His fingers graze Eddie's skin and Richie wonders if Eddie feels the same tingling energy that he does where they touch.

"Sounds good, Eddie. Even if it does mean I have to wait a while before I get to see your mom." Richie grins at Eddie- _my Eddie_. The moment has ended. It was short, but it was filled with unsaid words and feelings and hope and- _maybe I'll get to kiss him again oh god I actually kissed him in real life and he didn't hit me or start yelling or threaten to never speak to me again or-_

"That's not even funny, Richie. If my mom knew you said stuff like that, she would never let me see you again." Eddie says. Richie wonders if he's glad the moment has ended, or if he misses it as much as Richie does. He hopes Eddie misses it. He hopes they'll have another one. He hopes it'll be soon. He hopes they'll kiss again. He hopes for a lot of things, and all of them involve him and Eddie- _my Eddie oh god maybe he actually will be mine_ \- being happy together.

Eddies finished putting his wet wipes and bandages back in his fanny pack. He looks up at Richie expectantly, and Richie smiles down at him.

"Let's go fix that face of yours up, Eddie Spaghetti. God know it needs it. You'll be doing all the mirrors a favour. And all us innocent people who have to look at you all the time as well."

"Shut up, Richie," Eddie says, but with no conviction.

"That's not what your mom said last night,"Richie ruffles Eddie's hair- _god your hair is soft Eddie-_ and adds," Let's go, Eds. We must get you some ice, young man, for your wounds. Toodle pip, hurry up there Mister,"

Eddie rolls his eyes and elbows Richie halfheartedly. They head towards the door.

"You kids gonna buy anythin'?" The balding man asks them as they come around the shelf.

"Not today," Eddie smiles at the man, then winces in pain as his split lip stretches," Ow... C'mon then Richie. We better look out for Bowers. And, um, also, thank you, Richie. You literally slammed into him for me. That... was amazing, really. Thank you, "

"Anything for you, Eddie. I mean that." Richie replies, smiling gently at Eddie- _my Eddie I hope he's mine for real someday soon._

They peer out the grimy windows of the shop. Henry and his gang are nowhere to be seen. Slowly, Richie opens the door and they creep out onto the street.

"To my house, then?" Richie asks.

"If that's alright..." Eddie trails off uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's fine. Operation Make Eddie As Gorgeous As He Normally Is has officially begun." Richie says cheerfully. He starts walking in the direction of his house.

"You think I'm gorgeous?" Eddie says slowly, not moving

"What? Oh, uh... yeah. You are. Even now, covered in bruises." Richie says, slightly sheepishly.

Eddie mumbles something unintelligible, his cheeks flaming red. He jogs to catch up with Richie.

"Can't hear you, Spaghetti," Richie says.

"It's nothing... You're gorgeous too." Eddie says quickly, glancing sideways at Richie.

"I...That... that... really?"

"Absolutely,"

The two of them fall into silence, but not an uncomfortable one. The silence is pleasant. Richie wonders if Eddie is thinking the same as him.

 _I really want to kiss you again._


End file.
